jana's thinking place

She came into his life in 1994, almost a decade old at the time. She was honest and loyal, always willing to go the extra mile. He knew her every move, her every part, both inside and out.

She had his heart from the beginning.

Her name was Louise.

For thirteen years, Louise was Jason’s trusty sidekick. They had adventures on weekends and did real work during the week. Louise went to the beach and to the mountains, to weddings and funerals, north and south and east and west.

Seven years ago, Louise went to live with another family. They needed someone trustworthy to help them with adventures and real work. They promised to take care of her and love her. And also, to let us know if she ever needed to come back home.

Three weeks ago, I got a message that Louise was homesick. She wanted to come home and without Jason knowing it, I made that happen.

After he had spent a week in Europe, on Father’s Day Eve, with a tap on the shoulder and the push of a button to open the garage door, she was revealed.

Louise was home.

And they made out.

And drove off into the sunset.

Her name is Louise, and she was his first love.

And now she’s home.

A year ago, I woke up and (without knowing it was National Running Day) spent $19.95 to get the Couch to 5k program. I’m not sure why, but I was at home alone, feeling pretty crappy about myself, looking at my swelling feet, wondering what to do with myself.

My one goal was to get off the couch and be able to go for a jog in Central Park for BlogHer a few short weeks later.

That’s it. I wanted to lose a little weight, get a little exercise, and maybe get a race t-shirt sometime in the nearish future.

I put my feet to the pavement and invested in new shoes.

Never being one to NOT cave to peer pressure, a week later, I signed up for a half marathon. Jason thought I was insane. I’m sure all of my friends did, too. I mean, I couldn’t run 30 SECONDS, let alone 3+ hours.

But I believed I could.

And that’s half the battle.

I logged mile after mile after extremely painful mile. Running in the heat of the summer with arthritis isn’t the best way to start, but I figured if I could train in July, I could do anything.

I ran with Kelly in Central Park. Ok, it was more like walking and talking really fast, but we did run, too!

It got easier. I started not hating every single step. I only hate the steps that come before the last 5. The swelling stopped being so extreme and my arthritic joints actually felt BETTER.**

Now I look forward to running. It’s hard to squeeze it in now that I’m working full time, but somehow I do it. Not as much as I’d like, but I go when I can.

As I sit here today, thinking back, I realize how amazing it is.

A year has made a HUGE difference in my life.

I’ve run 5 5k’s, 2 10k’s, 1 15k, and a half marathon.

I’ve signed up for the Peachtree Road Race (10k) and the Wine & Dine Half Marathon.

I’ve lost 4 pants sizes, but only a few pounds.

I believed I could do something, and I did it. And I’m still doing it.

And you know what? You can, too.

** Obviously, please talk to your doctor before starting to run with arthritis.